Managing Language in
a Multicultural Nation
In a global economy, the need to nurture,
cultivate and manage multilingual resources within the United States is
more pronounced than ever. John Baugh
explains why. Read Full Article.

American English, in all its diversity, is unquestionably our
dominant national language, yet the United States has had a complex
multilingual history. Long before European settlers colonized North and
South America, thousands of indigenous languages thrived from coast to
coast. As European colonials and African slaves populated the land,
multilingualism increased, with provincial American English dialects
dominating. With each new wave of immigrants from every conceivable
point on the globe, the nation’s linguistic and cultural diversity
continued to grow.

Language planning tended to be neglected during the birth of the
American nation. As a result, the political and economic clout of the
early English settlers in the original 13 colonies established a
sociolinguistic hierarchy that still prevails.

Although many citizens are deeply committed to the role played by
American English as our pre-eminent national language, we should never
lose sight of the fact that this nation of immigrants continually
experiences ever-changing linguistic tides as new residents yearn to
share the American dream. A dream that often exceeds their English
fluency.

The European nations that colonized the Americas left indelible
linguistic impressions on their former colonies (including many African
countries, Australia, India and parts of Asia). Today, the global
spread of English owes much of its vibrancy to the economic and
technological advantages gained by the U.S. after the end of World War
II. Since that time, educators and politicians in nearly every other
advanced industrialized country have devoted considerable resources to
the teaching of English — in striking contrast to how the vast majority
of American schools have reduced or eliminated foreign-language
education as extraneous, if not superfluous.

Today, given the global economy, the need to nurture, cultivate, and
even manage multilingual resources within America is more pronounced
than ever. Some of this linguistic management is being addressed by
market forces, as advertisers and broadcasters strive to appeal to the
ever growing numbers of non-English speakers who as U.S. residents and
citizens are increasingly important consumers of goods and services.

Politicians have been keen to learn new languages to demonstrate
their empathy for non-English speaking voters. Some employers,
including many multinational corporations, have begun to recognize the
value of linguistic diversity among their employees; service businesses
in particular place great value upon bilingual or trilingual workers.
Diplomats and military strategists have always recognized the
importance of knowing other languages, but rarely have they managed
linguistic resources adequately.

The consequences of strategic linguistic mismanagement can be
devastating. Across the nation, firefighters, ambulance drivers and
hospital workers bemoan the fact that many human tragedies could be
averted or diminished if it weren’t for communication gaps between
those in need of emergency services (who frequently do not speak
English) and first responders who lack ready access to vital linguistic
translation.

As this example reveals, the work of linguists can play a key role
in building a national linguistic infrastructure that can enhance our
prospects for multilingual communication — with, among other benefits,
improved efficiency, health and safety.

John
Baugh
joined Stanford University as
Professor of Education and Linguistics in 1990. Prior to his tenure at
Stanford, Dr. Baugh served as Associate Professor of Linguistics and
Foreign Language Education at the University of Texas at Austin and as
Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Black Studies, Sociology, and
Anthropology at Swarthmore College. Dr. Baugh has published extensively
in the fields of Anthropology, Education, Legal Affairs, Linguistics,
Sociology and Urban Studies. His work bridges theoretical and applied
linguistics, with particular attention to matters of policy and social
equity in the fields of education, medicine, and the law. He has
conducted extensive research regarding the social stratification of
linguistic diversity within the U.S., Austria, Brazil, Hungary, South
Africa, and the UK, and is actively engaged in ongoing research that
examines the evolution and dissemination of English and other European
languages in post-colonial contexts throughout the world. Dr. Baugh is
a past president of the American Dialect Society and a member of the
usage advisory committee for the American Heritage English Dictionary.
He has also served as consultant on several documentary films related
to American language and as an expert witness in court cases where
matters of voice recognition and language attitudes have been central.
Dr. Baugh received his B.A. in Speech and Rhetoric at Temple University
and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of
Pennsylvania. He currently sits on the Boards of the Consortiuum of
Social Science Associations, Eastside Prep, Raising a Reader, and
Project Pericles.